Stephen Graham Jones, one of my new favourite horror authors, tackles the complexities of inherited trauma and alienation via the medium of vampirism. This is a sins of the father type story, with the monster returning, like Frankenstein’s creation, to person or at least bloodline which created it – albeit unwittingly. What I like about Jones’ storytelling is that while he presents the Blackfeet perspective, he is factual about atrocity and allows that it travels in all directions, that the Indian tribes were not flawless. He allows his characters to be real, flawed people. This was a snapshot of the past clashing with our present. Utterly compelling.

Don’t think this book is for me but can see it working for some people. DNF about 20% in and didn’t want to continue.

You know that weird high feeling that only comes from no sleep? Throw in a horror steeped in history that you finish at 5 am because you’ve not been able to step away and maybe you’ll be half way to understanding why it’s taken me almost 12 hours to still have no clue how to review this.

I guess horror is at its most terrifying when it’s believable, and with the true horror of history it hits hard, the author has left no holds barred with the traumatic history. I really appreciated having to work to understand the language in places.

Have I even made sense? I don’t know 🤯🤯🤯

This is phenomenal, I believe it’s available now, I highly recommend the audiobook the narration is fabulous.

Huge thanks to W F Howes LTD via NetGalley for the opportunity to review this audiobook.

This is not my usual genre, but I was intrigued by the blurb and the links to Native Americans. Oh my goodness, what a dark ride this turned out to be. I have no problem with gore, scary stuff or difficult subject matter but this really pushed me to the edge. I do a lot of listening at night, but I couldn’t manage all of this in the hours of darkness. It was genuinely unsettling. And that’s not a criticism, the writing is so powerful and the imagery so striking that it created an imaginary world that crept into my reality.

I love the premise and the story held up throughout. It’s packed with detail of vampiric attack and the aftermath, It’s not a slasher thriller, there’s substance to the take and a lot of food for thought. Bloody clever. Literally. I’ll be looking out some of his other work, for daytime listening or reading I think!

A different kind of vampire book where the true horror is the massive amount of horrific history people in power hide.

An academic discovers a journal from her great-great-grandfather, Arthur Beaucarne, a Lutheran pastor in 1912 which chronicles a bloody, gory history of a confessor who comes to him. Good Stab is a Blackfeet vampire, set on a path of reckoning and revenge.

I cannot deny Jones has mastery over his craft - chilling scenes, gory horror, delectable prose. However, at other times, the narrative took a plodding pace of: this happened and then this happened almost like a textbook rather than a story. Perhaps this is to mirror the personal account aspect, yet it did make it feel repetitive fast.

The pacing is also slightly uneven and I think some chapters could have been cut without missing out on anything.

Also, there is so much death. So much. Human, animal, my own feelings. It did start to feel over gratuitous and I felt burnt out by the end.

<b>They fit perfect in my mouth, and I sucked the marrow out, clumped its thick wetness into my throat and swallowed so hard it hurt my eyes, and I was trying to break the longer leg bone open when that marrow started to come back up my throat, with strings in it that made me feel like I was choking.
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Stephen Graham Jones did an amazing job of weaving actual history into his fictional tale. The vampire part adds a way of imparting immortality to pieces of history that is quietly being swept under the rug.

I won’t lie - you will have to use your brain for this book. It is not a popcorn thriller or horror. It is dark and unsettling and occasionally difficult to follow and swallow.

Physical arc gifted by Titan books.

Stephen Graham Jones brings such quiet rage to the page with his historical fiction writing and it floors me every single time.

The way he has envisioned vampirism is uniquely masterful in this story. I found the methods and the logistics of it so incredibly fascinating. I wanted to really take my time with this book, and when I missed anything, I would have to go back and take in every single page.

Found within the walls of a demolished building, a very old journal is found. Next of kin is located and Etsy Beaucarne is the new owner of this blood-soaked piece of history. This may just be her ticket to progressing her collegiate career…

Inside this journal tells the story of her great-great grandfather and his encounter with an Indian man with an unbelievable story… one filled with bloody revenge.

“What I am is the Indian who can’t die. I’m the worst dream America ever had.” (quote taken from the unfinished arc)

I found this line to be incredibly powerful!! This whole book was amazing from start to finish. Stephen Graham Jones always writes so SMART! Nothing is done without purpose and it hits so hard every time.

Do yourself a favor and check out the audiobook. The narration is really amazing., as always. This was phenomenal and I highly recommend it!